SF Giants pitching prospect goes viral for reaction to armed robbery
The SF Giants have at least one player who won't be afraid of crime in San Francisco. Giants pitching prospect Dylan Cumming, who spent 2023 with the Single-A San Jose Giants, was reportedly robbed at gunpoint while getting breakfast at a McDonald's last week. But that's not why he went viral.
Cumming filed his police report and immediately asked for a ride to Tread Athletics, a training facility for pitchers in Pineville, North Carolina. He still had a bullpen to throw, fueled by adrenaline, Egg McMuffins, and a sense of responsibility to his craft.
Later that day, Cumming's car was found wrecked after a police chase, showing that like Cumming, the thieves were also very interested in increasing their velocity. But the pitcher was philosophical about the loss.
Cumming went undrafted after graduating from Liberty University in 2022, and the Giants signed him to a minor-league deal in February. He started seven games for the San Jose Giants and finished 15, finishing with a 7-3 record, a 2.93 ERA and six saves. The Giants tried Cumming as a starter in July, but clearly he has the makeup of a closer. Would a screaming ninth-inning crowd intimidate a pitcher whose reaction to a mugging was, "I have to go throw a bullpen session"?
According to our own Wrenzie Regodon, "Cumming's fastball has modest velocity, topping out in the low-90s, but has good sink and has deception from his low 3/4 arm slot and his slinging arm action. His best pitch, however, is his sweeper that he can manipulate all over the strike zone. He also has a changeup and curveball that he sparingly throws but are pitches that he relies upon at times."
He also apparently relies on his courage and unflappable demeanor. After Buster Posey suggested that the perception of crime in San Francisco hurts their chance to get free agents, and a man from the suburbs of Sacramento weighed in, the Giants have at least one prospect that won't cower at the idea of a broken car window.
Perhaps that's why the city of Pineville has so much trouble attracting top free agents. That, and there's only a triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox nearby, the Charlotte Knights.
Will Cumming make it to the majors? It's not the craziest possibility, but it likely won't happen for a few years. Of course, by then the Giants' jersey patch deal with Cruise will expire. If Cumming makes the team, a McDonald's patch would be the perfect replacement.
